Thank you so much for your lecture on Newspeak history issued by the Minitru of Israel (the "state").
The term Filastin exists in your so called "holy book" written before you, descendent of Cain, ever existed. That you, it seems has never read. You could also read "the Jewish war", by Josephus.
But even if this rubbish that you and you other zionists criminal friends and co-liars were true, what would it mean? It is as relevant to your invasion, occupation, ethnic cleansing, house demolishing and water and land stealing.... "Peace is war" states Orwell, and "lies are true". That is, they are truly lies.
The crimes committed by the nazis were paid by the nazis, and those of the zionists will be paid by the Palestinians? DREAM ON.

Jehuda Ben-Israel: Too many Israelis are living a dream based on legend rather history. Goebbels once said a lie repeated frequently and consistantly will eventually be accepted by the people. I fear Israel has spent a great deal of time propagating a new version of history about Palestine.

palistians prior to 1948 were there , living on theire land , under british ocuppation and befor that under ottoman governance , but still they wer living on the land of their kanaanian encestors . the prophet ibraham grand father of the jaws was living among the autochtone population of palestine (the kanaaninaans , orriginally from misopotamia ), so even from a historical perspective palestinians were ther first befor even the concept of judeaisme even existed .

“Mr Netanyahu said that he sought a peace that would “end the conflict” with the Palestinians “once and for all” “: as we all know, what a politician says and what he thinks, let alone what he does, are often completely different things. Whatever Mr. Netanyahu may be saying his actions speak louder than his words: all his deeds and all his restrictions on a future “sovereign” state of Palestine point into one direction: he has no intention whatsoever of having a free, independent Palestinian state with all issues settled fairly.

“Mr Netanyahu began negotiating … with President Hosni Mubarak of Egypt, King Abdullah of Jordan…all there to urge them on”: considering that these two Arab leaders are autocrats, never elected by their peoples whose aspirations they do not reflect at all, what value do their prodding and coddling have?

“The old “Clinton Parameters” which Mr Barak, then prime minister, accepted, but the then Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, rejected ten years ago”: this was a bad deal for the Palestinians then, it is a bad deal for them now, because it curtails their sovereignty (so much for two equally independent states) and keeps the refugees as refugees, just in different areas . Of course “These terms…are accepted by most foreign countries”, but at the end of the day these countries aren't suffering grievously at Israel’s hands, they may accept anything, they won’t have to live with the consequences.

“What does Mr Abbas need to do to emulate Sadat?” Well, for one thing, he could start by controlling the whole Palestinian territories because there’s little sense in negotiating a deal which will not being implemented in Gaza where 30% of the Palestinians live. It would also help if, unlike Sadat and the other two previously mentioned Arab leaders, Mr. Abbas could be democratically elected by the Palestinians, which he isn’t. If Arafat, the undisputed Palestinian leader, refused the “Clinton Parameters” how can Abbas accept them when he has ZERO legitimacy?

To make a long story short, why is The Economist (and us readers/commentators) wasting ink and pixels on this so-called “peace process.” Nothing will come out of it; the Israelis will continue the occupation, expanding the settlements, demolishing Palestinians’ homes, creating more facts on the grounds; the Palestinians will go on sinking in ever greater depths of despair, while the so-called “international community” will wring its hands and go through the motions of what is neither peace nor a process. Plus ça change…

Please note, the shooting of the Israeli civilians is NOT Islamic behaviour. The rules of combat in Islam are very clear:

"Do not act brutally. Do not exceed the proper bounds. Do not mutilate. Do not kill children, hermits, serfs, or women" (Prophet Muhammed)

”Do not kill women, children, the old, or the infirm; do not cut down fruit-bearing trees; do not destroy any town; do not kill sheep or camels except for the purposes of eating; do not burn date-trees or submerge them; do not steal from the booty and do not be cowardly" (First Muslim Caliph, Abu Bakr)

A two state solution has been the goal of all peace talks hetherto and look at the result! It´s a blind alley. A one state solution, with the right of refugees to return. A democratic state without aphartheid, where Jews and Arabs (be they Christian or muslim)and other ethnic/religious minorities have one man one vote. A state where all people have the same right to water, where one denomination can not literally trash the other´s villages or neighbourhoods.
If people want a settlement, they must go for a one state solution, a non religious (secular), democratic state. I am not an anti-semite. I think people should respect each other´s religious denomination, as long as it does not involve fascistic solutions of politcal problems. And lets bear in mind, that the Christian right in the US wants the holy land to explode in one big blood-bath to fullfill the profecies of their Bible. I don´t think those extremists, who are so powerful within the Republican party, are really lovers of Jews. I think they want the Jews to perish along with the Arabs as Jesus Christ returns etc. What a nasty prophecy! May it never come true.

Well we can predict the outcome of the talks – it will produce nothing productive, rather more hatred. But such efforts must go on and keep the hearth warm.

All the 3 parties must read the book of Daniel. It clearly says the leader of the 1 world government would bring peace between Israel & Palestine. He would also help the Israelites to construct their temple on whose site now stands the Al Aqsa mosque.

One thing I don’t understand is why are the big brothers of the Palestinians (Saudi Arabia, Syria, Jordan etc) don’t have a heart to help the Palestinians who are living in hell like situations for more than half a century? Even Indians had a soft heart for a people who are not related to them, the Tibetians, and invited them to stay with them in Dharmashala.

Secondly, why are 2 brothers who have a same father, have such a hatred for each other? Are not Jews & Muslims children of Abraham? Do these have no word called forgiveness?

I think this has all happened because they killed Christ (Isaiah 53) and said let his blood be upon us and upon our children!

Vladek2. The Palestinian coins is great. Guard these significant proof of a Palestina country/governance existence. Some UN Resolution for Israelis (the one and only nuclear power in the ME) is not history book as well as the whole negotiation docs. Humanitarian violence committed by both Israel and Palestina is tremendous evidence. Humanity mask should be uncovered after prolong negotiations and massive buildings of settlements. Involvement of all Palestinian people in negotiation is logic, rational, and democratic appreciation. Initiatives for freedom and independence against the grip of territory occupier are equal with anti colonialism, anti imperialism, and anti apartheid that’s all.

Although it involves redrawing borders, anyone in any country involved can choose to stay or go as they desire.

This also creates a viable "homeland" for many displaced, not just Palestinians, from again the entire region. You will have to study the map carefully to appreciate the many nuances considered.

It would also involve finding peace between parties other than just Israelis and Palestinians. If it is indeed a given that everyone seems to think that these two parties alone are the only ones who need to come to agreement on sharing of land, then peace will indeed be a forever unreachable fantasy. Israelis and Palestinians must find peace but not Jordanians and Palestinians? Druze? Christians? Hamas? Saudis? Bedouins? Please.

Throw away the history books of any authorship, choose to look forward instead of back, and dare to dream for all the children of the region.

"Palestine" as a state has never been in existence, neither before 1967 nor after that date. "Palestine" is a name of a territory, not a state, that historically consisted of present day Jordan, Israel, West Bank and Gaza. This territory - named after Roman's coinage of the name Philistia - which was coined in order to erase any trace of Jewish existence in the land of Judeah - was named and assigned to the British mandatory government based on the San Remo Conference, 1920, and the League of Nations decisions, 1922, and implemented in 1923.

The fact that the British issued coins in which the name "Palestine" appears is an indication that the British, not the Arabs, ruled over this territory, 78% of which eventually was handed over to the Arabs of the Land to be led by the Hashemite Clan of the Hijaz, Suudi Arabia, to be known as Transjordan and later as Jordan. The rest of the Land, from the River to the Sea, was to be handed over to the Jewish people as the national home of this people.

Gurpenname denies the existance of Palestine prior to 1967. However there are coins dated in the 1930's that bear the name of Palestine. Israel cannot revise history to cover up their colonial ambitions.

@Working Man,
I don't actually care about agreement or disagreement in the comments. That is not the point.
It is perfectly obvious that we are all wasting our time here.
Look at the posts - tonnes of self-assurance, indignation, condemnation, references, quotations, etc. We've seen and heard this all for maaaaany years. Nothing new.
Has anyone changed his point of view in the course of the preceding discussion? Not a single soul!
And you really think a ONE STATE solution is possible?
They will kill each other on the first day of their supposedly peaceful co-existence! And I don't care who's shot will be first. This is absolutely immaterial. What we all need is peace.
And to come to that these two nice, peace-loving, law-abiding and endlessly tolerant nations need to be SEPARATED.

Stop flogging a dead horse.
It is not true but if it is you are repeating the Afartheid foundation act.
"There were no Zulus, Xhosas etc."
But the truth in the clot of Nelson Mandela eventually shineth out.
they say, you can fool somebody sometime,
but you can(t fool everybody all the time.

United Nations knows very well where the occupied territory is. All artificial diplomacy is only a packaging even effective one to deceive some generations. However, the most great is she have been souring seeds of hatred globally against Palestinians, Muslims, Islamic values to avert the World from original issue of occupied territory (500.000 settlers in placement not only one night). Weakening the World is her most mission, beginning from (you know).

Let’s see how she paints soil and sky with phosphorous-B and US-gift-nice-nukes. Her enemies are no fear of death anymore. Immune game started when humanity is destroyed totally.

The Jewish (European) immigration to Palestine after the WWII is being irreconcilably and violently resisted by the Arab world – need for Muslim purity. Ironically, the same Arab world considers Muslim immigration to Europe being their right. The only difference is in numbers 20 mill vs. 2 mill and the level of tolerance. The Palestinians are only pawns in the hand of Arab despotic regimes. Why was West Bank not given to Palestinians brothers by Jordan before occupation?

1. "Jerusalem has NEVER been the capital city of any people or any state but that of the Hebrew/Israeli/Jewish people"
- It was a capital of crusader "Kingdom of Jerusalem" in the Middle Ages.

2. "and has been the civilizational center of the Jewish people"
- Correct, but with important addition - not ONLY of Jewish people.

(Civilizational center of Greek people, by the way, was Constantinople. And remained so for over 1,000 years. Does this mean the Greeks can now legitimately take Istanbul back from the Turks?)

3. "Muslim-Arab world ... can't accept Israel's right to have Jerusalem as its capital city"
- THERE ARE NO FOREIGN EMBASSIES IN JERUSALEM, even American one is in Tel-Aviv (please correct me if I'm wrong). So probably it is not only Arabs that do not accept Jerusalem as Israel's capital.

4. "Political entity called Palestine did not exist until 1948."
- Correct. Neither did Israel. Not completely, of course, but for 2,000 preceding years - definitely.

CONCLUSION: Using history as a basis for territorial claims is a very slippery road. That may lead us, for example, to Iraqis claiming Jerusalem for themselves on the basis of its being once captured by Assyrians.

5. Most important:
I am not anti-semite, Jew-hater and descendant of Yassir Arafat.
So please spare me all these labels.

As far as the conflict is concerned, I personally see no other solution but TWO SEPARATE STATES. Preferably with a concrete wall between them and non-circumcised UN peacekeepers from, say, New-Zealand guarding the wall.